MIG 21, no one has done one in foam or anything thing else except het, and its too small., and it needs to be 90mm.everything thing else has been done to death, something NEW would be a breath of fresh air.

I honestly don't see how the flight performance of a 4 year old foam model (E-flite EPS F-15) compares to their ability of making a new Platinum series twin composite jet. I don't mean to sound harsh but it seems that build is a completely different topic eventhough you started this thread.

I really doubt E-flite would make an F-14, reason is profitability as all have said. It will just be too expensive to have a significant take on the market. I think they would be much more successful doing a Mig-21 which a lot of folks have shown interest for. An F-14 however would be fantastic and it really is not that complex as it seems. The EPS/EPO twin 55mm (Artech), 60mm (Starmax) and twin 70mm (Starmax) versions out there fly good and the sweep wings mechanism and flying characteristics is not an issue at all. The main concern though is weight. A twin 70mm EDF composite would be the one, with good size and a little bigger than the current F-4.

This is my EPS twin 60mm version, modified for 64mm fans. It's heavy due to my additions of retracts, epoxy fixes and other things but it flies at 4lbs+.

With the right power setup and overall bigger size I'm sure that E-Flite would be able to make a great composite F-14. Twin 80mm might be too big for their target market though.

I'm not into russian jets for some reason. If we could vote I would definitely love an F-14 but if that's not possible then a single fan A-7 Corsair or an A-6 would be cool and different from current offerings.

I honestly don't see how the flight performance of a 4 year old foam model (E-flite EPS F-15) compares to their ability of making a new Platinum series twin composite jet. I don't mean to sound harsh but it seems that build is a completely different topic eventhough you started this thread.

I really doubt E-flite would make an F-14, reason is profitability as all have said. It will just be too expensive to have a significant take on the market. I think they would be much more successful doing a Mig-21 which a lot of folks have shown interest for. An F-14 however would be fantastic and it really is not that complex as it seems. The EPS/EPO twin 55mm (Artech), 60mm (Starmax) and twin 70mm (Starmax) versions out there fly good and the sweep wings mechanism and flying characteristics is not an issue at all. The main concern though is weight. A twin 70mm EDF composite would be the one, with good size and a little bigger than the current F-4.

That's a cracking F14 you have there! You are right that an EPS F15 is a lot different to a composite F14, however the reason I wanted to do the build is that folks were saying things like "two motors is two expensive", " the shape is too different", "it's too complex to be cost effective". So Instead of sitting behind a keyboard with just an opinion I figured I would take a shot at it and see what I could learn from a related model that Eflite already make.

What I have learnt so far is that the particular formula they use for EPS is super soft so I would much prefer the platinum composite style. Also if twin 80 is too big then twin 69 or 70 would be good. Buying two esc's is a big cost, I did not appreciate that fully until i forked out for them. If Elite could design a single esc that can run two motors that would be a very competitive innovation in this increasingly commoditised hobby.

The Corsair looks great but my vote is still for an f14!

btw, I got my replacement fan in today so I am looking forward to seeng how this bird flies!

Well my F15 flew, and it flew better than what I expected. Very stable, launched easilly, performed well in the air and looked incredible.

I did have a problem on landing though and have a minor repair on my hands. I hope to get out flying it again in coming weeks and will get some inflight photos and better flight footage.

Summary of the excercise
In summary, what I found out by building this kit is that Eflite has the design knowledge to make an F15 fly really well. I know there are fundamental differences between the two however I would have confidence that they could produce a well flying F14 also. One thing to note is that the EPS foam while looking great in the box is not a very resilient material and marks easilly (others noted this also), a possibility would be to use a similar construction style to the Habu with an FRP fuse and built up wings, or all FRP if that were possible.

The additional cost of the twin motor setup was substantial, i.e. two motors, two fans, two edf's. While I didn't think it would be an issue at the start I found that it did make a hit on my credit card so this can't be understated. If Eflite (or another manufacturer) brought out a single ESC that had two motor controllers on board, that would be a way around this at least to a small extent.

Overall I am quite positive about this experience and while I feel that the EPS foam is the weakpoint in this recipe I am hopefull that I can keep this bird flying for some time in the future as the look of it cutting through the air is incredibly enjoyable and has to be witnessed. While I started out hoping to gain some profile for the F14 with Eflite I have to admit that if they went ahead and released a platinum edition F15 I would be picking one up as soon as they hit the hobby store shelves.

For me though the real win would be an F14 that is small enough to transport, yet big enough to land on grass. Light enough to fly well, yet sturdy enough to last for years as a favourite flier. Innovative in design of the mechanics, and electronics in order to overcome excessive build costs. - It's a big challenge and requires a determined player to pull it off, yet the result as per the real deal could be simply stunning....

This is my EPS twin 60mm version, modified for 64mm fans. It's heavy due to my additions of retracts, epoxy fixes and other things but it flies at 4lbs+.

With the right power setup and overall bigger size I'm sure that E-Flite would be able to make a great composite F-14. Twin 80mm might be too big for their target market though.

I'm not into russian jets for some reason. If we could vote I would definitely love an F-14 but if that's not possible then a single fan A-7 Corsair or an A-6 would be cool and different from current offerings.

A-7 Corsair II

Who's EPS foam kit F-14 is that? I'd like to see what it would take for me to build that. How does it fly?

I think the F14 is such a beautiful airframe with such a following, that we would accept compromises if we Eflite made a composite F14. I would still enjoy it with fixed extended wings. It needs twin motors, I don't see a way around that. But if you could do 1 giant ESC and 1Rx the cost wouldn't be too bad.

F14 rocks. Mig 21 is just another single engine. I do like the Mig 29 or SU-31 etc twins but prefer to stay American with my fleet.

I got into this hobby with Horizon products, so I have a soft spot for them, that and they are in the US supporting the local store.

I just cant afford some of the stuff they have been making. That F-4 looks fantastic, but its WAY out of my price range.

When E flite launched the Thunderbird F-16 I was waiting at the LHS for that one. As far as I can tell E-flite had art tech make that plane for them and then E-flite had to design and build a motor system for it. In the long run the plane got such a bad rap because of the power system, that they could never sell them any more.
If eflite took the current art tech f-14 and designed a kick ass twin 55 mm power system i bet they could have it painted gray, sell 3 or 4 different good quality decal sets for $15-20 a set and sell the receiver ready version for $199 and make a profit.
If they increased the size to fit twin 64's or 70's and retracts while we are at it, I think it would be $299 just for the airframe, and thats where it becomes out of my price range.

I like the idea of a B-1 Bomber, Im actually surprised that no one has taken the swing wing assembly from an F-14 and tried to make one, its probably because the wings would need to be larger than the ones on the available f-14's.

Images

I'd love to see an A-7 Corsair II, A-4 Skyhawk or an F-5 Tiger in eflite's single fan, 80mm line.

F-14 seems as if it would be quite expensive to develop and would certainly require dual fans, thus increasing the cost to the buyer to complete. An F-14 would be a heavy bird too (if blinged out with retracts, the swing wings and a full house setup). The weight problem is exactly what the F-4 suffers from.